Zenith Online: Rebirth of the Strongest Player

The humongous shark fin-shaped attack plowed through the dungeon setting, devastating a large stretch of the cavern. 

In wake of this terrible amount of damage, several of the monsters that Bastion and Nemean simultaneously tanked suffered large amounts of damage.

Despite dealing a large amount of damage, however, Kieran's attack failed to kill any of the Chimeric Homunculi or any of the Deranged Homunculi.

Aside from them being too healthy for him to kill in one shot, Kieran came to realize that their DEF was even more disgusting than he gave them credit for.

Despite having less than half the health of Moribun, an attack fueled by the Dread Circlet only dealt a quarter of the damage it accomplished against Moribun.

'These things are incredibly sturdy…' he thought, his expression remaining somewhat indifferent.

Though the outcome of his first attack was far from desirable, it wasn't disheartening. After all, he could still unleash three more attacks.

However, before doing so, Kieran understood that it'd be more practical to address the matters of their ridiculously high DEF.

With that, Crimson Ashrune became enshrouded in a wild aura all of a sudden—one that rampaged like a raging storm.

Thanks to Kieran repeatedly unleashing Wild Crash against monsters of substantial ranking, the skill's current Mastery level skyrocketed.

Of course, the effect of War Crest of Champions contributed to the gains in a significant way. As a result of Moribun's ranking, Kieran accrued Skill Mastery quickly. 

When Kieran realized how quickly it compounded, it led to him drawing out the battle against Moribun under the guise of rendering aid to his teammate in times of insurmountable hardship. 

'Although everything I've received thus far might seem like a blessing designed to promote rapid growth, it's not exactly true. While I can't refute the obvious gains I'll receive from these items, I can acknowledge that everything encourages me to take risks and walk the path rife with challenges and absurdities,' Kieran thought, momentarily glancing at the aura enveloping Crimson Ashrune.

Although Kieran didn't mind the challenge, he did understand that withstanding rampant hardships could possibly lengthen the process of accomplishing his goals.

The Mystic Runemaster Class was already an anomaly that he couldn't account for.

While he was unsure whether it would hasten or delay his progress due to Hekaina's claims, he did understand that it would undoubtedly cause some variations in his future.

Nevertheless, none of these matters were particularly an issue for Kieran. That was because the more he considered their meaning, the more Kieran felt these opportunities were tied together. 

Just like the powers he held, the people behind them were related in some shape or form. Scar possessed a relationship with Agatha and Isadora, while Agrianos possessed some kind of relationship with Veradin, Hekaina, and perhaps other grand figures of this world.

Soon enough, Kieran's contemplation turned into drive and anticipation.

'I will unearth the secret at the root of all my questions. In doing so, perhaps I'll come to learn more about myself and why a being like Eni contacted me.'

Whoosh!

Once Kieran finished his short deliberation, he stepped forward, activating a skill that had been brewing for quite some time now.

"Fury Rush!"

Despite its low rank, Fury Rush's identity as a movement and damaging skill was convenient. With one use of this skill, Kieran arrived before the aftermath of his first Dread Culling, overlapped by the results of Alice, Sora, and Khaos' attacks.

"Wild Crash!"

…Boom!

A thunderous explosion rang out, nearly rupturing everyone's eardrum due to how close it occurred. When the dust cleared, everyone's jaw dropped as they witnessed Kieran holding a large piece of the broken ground nearly ten times his size.

Bang!

He then slammed down the large piece of rough stone, dealing a fixed amount of damage.

-75,000

The effects of swinging around a sword like Crimson Ashrune weren't trivial. Because of it, Kieran's arm strength had become something that most could only gawk at.

Coupled with the effects of the Imprint of Might, Kieran's current physique could undoubtedly contend against some Advanced Beings. That was why he could toss the immense rock effortlessly.

"Ah. Look guys, it's a walking Bam Bam." Nemean snickered after watching Kieran bury several Chimeric Homunculi with his brutal actions.

"You're not lying. That style of battle is nothing short of primitive. But within that primal way of fighting is a certain refined quality," Khaos commented, his gaze becoming somewhat unusual. 

'I tasked several Berserkers in my guild to attempt to alter or manipulate the terrain with their attacks or physical actions, yet none of them proved effective. On the other hand, within an environment where the setting is strengthened, Aatrox uprooted a piece of the earth… absurd, nonsensical. These words barely begin to describe his existence,' Khaos inwardly thought.

"Hahahaha!" Bastion laughed uproariously, feeling secondhand pride for simply being related to Kieran. "When it comes to might, there's no one that can dare claim they're his superior. Our boss is literally THE unstoppable force."

"You're not wrong," Alice agreed with a nod, witnessing as Kieran unleashed his second usage of Dread Culling. 

The only difference this time was Kieran executed it through a horizontal slash, which filled the horizon with berserk and dreadful energies. It was like watching the dawn of a chaotic day.

However, similar to his first attack, this use of Dread Culling failed to kill a single monster despite Wild Crash greatly reducing their DEF.

"Holy moly! What are these things made of? I just want to get EXP. Can't you help a brother out?" Nemean exclaimed. 

"This is haram. There's no way they withstood two of our boss's attacks like that. Ain't no way, boy. Boy, ain't no way." Bastion shook his head, refusing to believe the situation at hand.

"It's understandable. In terms of resisting attacks, I put them on par with you, Bastion. If not, why do you think you're having such a difficult time maintaining their retaliation?" Kieran commented, glancing to the side with a calm smile.

As he looked at everyone, his lightheartedness seemed to rub off on them, giving them the impression that everything remained within his control. If it was one thing Kieran understood, it was that manipulating the morale of his forces was an ability all commanders must master.

This calm air around his body naturally assuaged the disbelief some of the members felt.

Meanwhile, Kieran absorbed what happened. 'Two attacks empowered by the Dread Circlet, a Wild Crash, and a Fury Rush, yet a large number of these monsters still had their Health above 50%.'

If he wished to, Kieran could perform a drastic action, such as dumping the UAPs in his possession. Thanks to the Trial of Ancient Mysticism and his level-up rewards, Kieran held close to 600 of them.

However, as tempting as this idea was, Kieran refrained from doing so.

As he mentioned before, the disparity in his STR, AGI, and CTL had to be addressed. With him being a Mythic Class, he didn't only have one primary stat. Instead, he had four. Aside from the three already named, his final primary stat was VIT.

"Hooo." Kieran exhaled, picking up Crimson Ashrune at an angle. 'It would seem that I need to be stronger if I'm to deal with these opponents quickly.

All of a sudden, Kieran's hair began to flutter before becoming bristly and thick like a wolf's mane. At the same time, his features grew sharper as a piercing and savage glint appeared in his eyes.

〈System: You have consumed 50 «Hunt» stacks to enter «Predator Hunt».〉

〈System: As you have entered your «Predator Form», all of the corresponding effects will now apply.〉

Whether it was the increased Attack Speed and Movement Speed or the increased Critical Chance, all of the effects applied to Kieran. And because of the large number of enemies surrounding him, Kieran had a large pool of potential Hunt contributions.

"Oh ho, I know that look. The boss is about to go on a hunt!" Bastion said, his expression and voice overcome with giddiness.

Just as he voiced those words out, Kieran suddenly dashed forward, combining his augmented movement speed with the boost from Surge Step. As he moved, a red paper-thin line cut through the sky, leaving a distinct presence. 

From within that thin line, a surge of blackish-red energy gush over, deluging a…

«Critical Hit»

«Critical Hit»

«Critical Hit»

«Critical Hit»

With the help of his Predator Form's effects, Kieran managed to land a Critical Hit on several of the violent opponents. However, he also realized that a lot of these monsters unleashed attacks faster than he assumed.

As a result… Kieran was forced to react.

"Vim Restoration!"

Fwoom!

A burst of vitality thrummed from Kieran's body, but he manipulated the excess to condense a Wrath Eruption. The outcome evolved into a type of blood cannon-looking attack that splashed in several directions like a splintered geyser.

In response, Kieran's body recoiled from the backlash, but he handled it well by anchoring his back foot in the ground. 

'Another possible drawback of this power. If my blood power grows too quickly, I run the risk of severely damaging my body. Neither Blood Strengthening nor Fervor Augmentation are to be taken lightly. These words came directly from Scar.'

Back when Scar trained Kieran to ultimately perform Dread Culling by first understanding Fervor Augmentation, he warned Kieran that this ability blurred the barrier between his blood power increasing and Argexes' temptations increasing.

While the former didn't rely on the latter to become dangerous, the link between the two was more than enough to advise caution.

When the thin line carrying a remarkable amount of lethal pressure dissipated, everyone received a few notifications, alerting them that Kieran's third strike handled a few of these monsters successfully.

In Kieran's case, he received several messages that he suppressed willingly, so as to not distract or detract from the battle currently taking place. Though he killed several Chimeric Homunculi, there wasn't a single notification highlighting the culling effects reducing some of Dread Culling's cooldown.

This outcome led Kieran to believe that there was a shadow limitation on the skill. 'Of course… why would continued exploitation be so easy? Though… this doesn't mean that resetting the skill more than once is impossible.'